Join Will Cooling at 1pm ET for all the action from the live showing of UFC 112: Invincible. The Ultimate Fighting Championships make its Middle Eastern debut with a championship double-header as Lightweight Champion BJ Penn defends against Frankie Edgar and Demian Maia attempts to dethrone Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Also on the card will be Matt Hughes against Renzo Gracie.
Show opens with a video package hyping the significance of the UFC’s debut in Abu Dhabi. You have to hand it to the UFC, they’ve really stolen a march on boxing by holding the first elite level combat sports event in the Middle East. The outdoor set up looks really cool.
Mark Munoz (185 lbs.) vs. Kendall Grove (185 lbs.)
Round One
Big height and reach advantage for Grove, who is also five years younger than Munoz. Grove starts the round by trying to keep Munoz at distance, using his reach advantage to throw the jab. Munoz gets the takedown but Grove is able to get up. Munoz goes for another takedown but is caught by Grove with a nice uppercut. Munoz is in survival mode, hanging onto the leg of Grove. Munoz goes for another takedown and Grove is able to get some hard shots to the head while blocking the takedown. They are eventually stood up and Munoz goes for another takedown only for Grove to sprawl and go for a choke. Munoz escapes and gets back to his feet, goes for the takedown only for Grove to again sprawl and transition into a submission attempt. Grove applies the guillotine and Munoz is saved by the buzzer. Really good round. 10-9 to Grove.
Round Two
Another good round. Munoz again goes for the takedown and Grove sprawls, eventually going for an armbar. Munoz sweeps Groves and Munoz shows just why he had been so determined to get the takedown throughout the fight. Nasty ground and pound from Munoz, who is able to evade the upkicks from the leggy Grove to land several hard punches to stop the fight by TKO at 2.50.
Terry Etim (154 lbs.) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (156 lbs.)
Round One
Etim has a two-inch reach and height advantage while Dos Anjos weighed in two pounds heavier. They trade kicks to begin with, both throwing nice leg kicks while Etim mixes in some high kicks. Dos Anjos goes for a takedown only for Etim to catch him in a guillotine. Dos Anjos hangs in there and is eventually able to escape and get top position. Etim shoots for an armbar but this simply allows Dos Anjos to pass to side countrol. Is laying in some hard knees to the back of Etim but the referee warns him to stop ‘elbowing’ Etim in the spine. Dos Anjos again lays in some knees to the back of Etim and the referee stands them up over Dos Anjos ‘elbowing’ Etim in the spine. Dos Anjos shoots for a takedown which Etim blocks, Dos Anjos then trips Etim and goes for the heel hook which Etim escapes and ends up in Dos Anjos’ guard. Dos Anjos is content to see out the round on the bottom. Good round. 10-9 to Etim.
Round Two
They exchange kicks to start with Etim throwing a nice looking spinning back kick. Dos Anjos gets the takedown and quickly passes into side control. Dos Anjos bosses from the top, tieing up Etim looking for several submission attempts throughout the round. Eventually Dos Anjos switches to a North-South position looking for the North-South choke, when Etim was able to block that he switched to an armbar. Etim almost rolls out but Dos Anjos has it locked in and is able to secure the submission at 4.30 in the second round.
In a pre-lim fight from earlier on, Phil Davis impressed with a first round victory due to a tight anaconda choke at 4.55.
Matt Hughes (170 lbs.) vs. Renzo Gracie (171 lbs.)
Round One
Gracie has a three-inch reach advantage, a one-inch height advantage and weighed in one pound heavier. Unsurprisingly Hughes is a big time heel as far as the crowd is concerned. In a battle between a wrestler and a grappler we start with some cautious stand up, as they spend a couple of minutes feeling each other out. Gracie lands a hard left hook, followed by some other punches which causes Hughes to shoot for a takedown. Although Hughes is able to push Gracie up against the cage he’s unable to get the takedown and they go back to the cautious standing exchanges. Hughes throws some nice leg kicks. Gracie lands a kick to the mid-section as the buzzer ends. Very cautious round from both, neither willing to go down to where they’re strongest and neither willing to fully commit to the stand up. 10-9 to Gracie.
Round Two
More of the same at the start of the second round, with both fighters cautiously trading standing. Hughes is working the leg kick, getting more ‘snap’ into them than in the first round. Gracie is doing more damage with his punches, with his right hand and left hook both landing well. Hughes is able to get a double underhook throw but Gracie is up immediately. More long distance striking from these two, with Hughes probably getting the better of the exchanges due to Gracie’s defensiveness and his inability to check the leg kick from Hughes. Crowd is starting to get impatient with these two, openly booing the fight. Gracie goes for the takedown but Hughes is able to stuff it and land some knees and punches. Crowd heavily boos the fight at the end of the round. I have that round 10-9 to Hughes based on his leg kicks but I wouldn’t be surprised if the judges disagreed.
Round Three
Are you watching Cecil Peoples? Anybody who doubts that leg kicks can end fights should watch this round. After a couple of minutes of cautious exchanges standing, Gracie goes for the takedown only for Hughes to able to block the takedown and land some hard knees and punches in return. Hughes then lands several hard uppercuts which rock Gracie. Hughes eventually knocks Gracie down as a nice leg kick causes Gracie’s leg to buckle. Hughes refuses to get involved on the ground, backing off and forcing the stand up (indeed he offers Gracie a hand up). More standing exchanges but again Gracie’s leg buckles with a leg kick. Gracie is in a terrible position, unable to put any weight on his right leg and so unable to offer anything standing. The end comes with Hughes landing several jabs and right hands unanswered, and then knocking down Gracie with another uppercut. The referee has seen enough and end it at 4.40. Bizarre round but an impressive performance from Hughes as he dissected Gracie standing and refused to let Gracie off the hook by getting sucked into a fight on the ground.
UFC World Lightweight Title Match
BJ Penn (155 lbs.) vs. Frankie Edgar (154 lbs.)
Round One
Penn has the height advantage while Edgar has the slight reach advantage. Close round, with neither over committing to begin with. Edgar is seeking to damage on the move, seeking to get in close land his shot and then get out before Penn can land. He had some success with these hit and run tactics to begin with but Penn was eventually able to find his range and land his punches more frequently. Probably the key exchange in a round that lacked action was when Edgar went for the takedown and Penn was not only able to block the attempt with ease but landed several nice-looking uppercuts. That was probably enough to give Penn the round but I wouldn’t argue if you disagreed. 10-9 Penn.
Round Two
That BJ Penn has the best boxing in the sport is said so often that its almost became a cliche, but one of the things that is often overlooked is how much his game is shaped by his boxing. Penn seems to fight in a way that has more in common with a champion boxer – he marches to the centre of the ring and controls the fight from that dominant position. This was the case in this round, with Penn always maintaining a central position and so forcing Edgar to come to him and fight at the angles that Penn determines. This allowed Penn to get some good punches in. Despite this Edgar did some good work, landing some hard shots and briefly getting Penn down. I would again give the round to Penn based on Octagon control but wouldn’t argue if you disagreed.
Round Three
More of the same in the third round, with Penn controlling where the fight is taking place by controlling the key central position of the ring but Edgar doing a lot of good work coming in. Edgar outworked Penn in this round, landing some good shots and while his takedown attempts were blocked they successfully fitted into his strategy of using his headmovement to ‘fake’ takedown attempts when looking to land a punch. Another close round but I would just give it to Edgar this time. 10-9 Edgar.
Round Four
Another round that conforms to the pattern of this fight, Penn fighting from a dominant position in the centre of the Octagon while Edgar hyperactively fights on the edge of the ‘inner Octoagon’. These rounds are incredibly difficult to score, with Penn controlling where the fight is taking place and ticking things over with nice jabs and uppercuts but its Edgar who is pushing the action and landing the flashier looking shots. Edgar lands a nice right hand to end the round and probably did enough to take the round and go into the final round level on my scorecard.
Round Five
This is Edgar’s best round, as he seems to disrupt Penn’s rhythm with a big takedown early on. While Penn is able to quickly get up, it was a genuine takedown and Penn seems unable to reassert the territorial dominance that had been such a big part of his game in the earlier rounds. Penn is noticeably slowing down, with the damage caused by Edgar’s punches visible on his face. Penn tries to catch the judges’ eye with some big right hands towards the end of the round but I doubt that its enough. I have the round and the fight for Edgar, 48-47.
The judges scorecards are 50-45, 48-47, 49-46, all to Frankie Edgar who is your new Lightweight Champion. Really good performance from Edgar who was able to outwork a cagey if slightly flat BJ Penn.
UFC World Middleweight Title Match
Anderson Silva (185 lbs.) vs. Demian Maia (184 lbs.)
Round One
Silva has the height advantage and a big reach advantage. Rogan lets slip that Silva will be the next challenger for George St. Pierre should he retain his title(!?!). Silva opens with a nasty looking stomp to Maia’s shin and follows with an impactful right hand. Silva throws a spinning back kick which seems to just miss. Silva taunts Maia by repeatedly dropping to one knee right in front of him. Maia goes down as Silva lands the same sort of jab that knocked out Forest Griffin. Silva throws a nice high-knee, leg kick combination. Silva really is going over the top with the taunting, mock running around the ring and do a silly dance in the middle of the Octagon. Silva knocks Maia down with a flying knee but refuses to engage on the ground, instead he throws leg kicks until the Maia is stood up. Maia is obviously out of his depth and is running scared, Silva knocks him down with another right hand as the fight ends. 10-8 to Silva.
Round Two
This is dominance like I have never seen in a boxing or mixed martial arts fight. Silva is not only dominating Maia but he is humiliating the poor man. Not content with connecting at will with a variety of strikes, Silva is taunting him like an insane modern day version of Muhammad Ali. Maia is reduced to launching desperation lunges for the leg of Anderson Silva but the champion is always able to escape. The last two minutes is like nothing of this world, as Silva spends most of the time taunting the challenging telling him to stand and daring him to try and take him down. Just unbelievable. 10-9 to Silva.
Round Three
More of the same from Silva, as the champion is toying with an outclassed and outmatched challenger. The exchanges almost don’t matter as much as the obvious fact that Silva has absolutely no respect for Maia and is content to spend much of his time clowning around and humiliating his opponent. The only moment of concern for the champion is when he slips after throwing an overly flashy kick but this simply motivates the champion to put together his tighest combination of the round. Crowd is starting to get impatient with the lack of action though. 10-9 to Silva.
Round Four
For whatever reason, Silva has slowed right down and is no longer engaging with the same brutality and intensity that he managed in the opening rounds. He isn’t even taunting Maia with the same verve as he was earlier on. The crowd is sick of the lack of action, contenting itself first with chants of ‘Maia’ and then with chants of ‘GSP’. A round where literally nothing happened but Silva seemed to have the Octagon control. 10-9 to Silva but a terrible, terrible round.
Round Five
Maia’s left eye is completely shut, apparently due to him blowing his (broken) nose in the fourth round. Maia shows a lot of heart, landing some desperation shots on the head of the champion but Silva was able to escape. Maia goes for the takedown which Silva was able to escape, but Maia then started throwing punches from his knees. Its becoming clear that Silva had tired during the fight and that’s why he’s stop being so aggressive. Maia has a strong takedown attempt but Silva is able to escape with ease. Silva continues to evade with ease, eventually earning a warning from the referee that if he continues to run away then he’ll have a point deducted. Maia gets the final round but it surely must be Silva’s fight. 49-44 to Silva.
Judges’ scorecards are not given but Anderson Silva retains via unanimous decision. Crowd is booing the decision.
Despite having George St. Pierre at cageside, there’s no face to face confrontation in the middle of the cage between the two, which seems strange.
